Endoscope with separable, disposable shaft

ABSTRACT

Endoscopes comprising a reusable hand-piece and separable disposable shaft assembly are illustrated and described. The reusable hand-piece includes a housing having an articulation control mounted thereto and an electronics module mounted thereto. The articulation control includes control knobs and concentric drive shafts for articulation. The electronics module includes a battery, a control board, and an optical and/or electrical connector. The separable disposable shaft comprises a housing having an articulation wire actuating assembly mounted thereto and an optical and/or electrical connector mounted thereto. When the housing of the hand-piece and the housing of the separable disposable shaft assembly are joined together, the articulation control engages the articulation wire actuating assembly and the optical and/or electrical connector of the reusable hand-piece engages the optical and/or electrical connector of the disposable shaft assembly.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of U.S. Pat. Application No. 16/421,523, filed on May 24, 2019, which claims the benefit of International Application No. PCT/US2017/063413 filed Nov. 28, 2017, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/426886 filed Nov. 28, 2016 the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention generally relates to endoscopes and, more particularly, to endoscopes used in gastroenterological applications.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Endoscopes are used in a wide variety of medical procedures to visualize internal cavities or potential spaces within the human body during either diagnostic or therapeutic procedures.

One factor affecting endoscope design and use is infectious disease transmission. Although infectious disease transmission has always been a risk with reusable endoscopes, this risk has increased with the advent of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Once transmission of these bacteria has occurred between patients, antibiotic resistance makes it difficult to treat these infections. Many of these bacteria, including staphylococcus, have the ability to form a protective outer barrier, frequently referred to as a bio-film, which protects the infectious bacteria from during cleaning procedures.

Another recent development that increases the risk of infectious disease transmission is an ever-increasing number of diagnostic procedures that require the use of smaller and more complicated instruments and longer working (lumens) and distal manipulators, e.g. elevators, associated with the endoscope distal articulating shaft. Together, the increasing prevalence of difficult to treat infectious diseases and more complex, difficult-to-clean endoscopes make the sterilization and re-use of endoscopes an increasingly risky activity.

Reducing or limiting the potential for infectious disease transmission is desirable. Accordingly, new endoscope designs are desired.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure pertains generally to endoscopes. In certain aspects, the present disclosure pertains to endoscopes having a reusable hand-piece removably coupled to a disposable shaft assembly. The reusable hand-piece includes articulation controls, and the disposable shaft assembly includes an articulation wire articulating assembly that engages the articulation controls when the reusable hand-piece and disposable shaft assembly are coupled to one another (e.g., when the housing of the reusable hand-piece and a housing of the disposable shaft assembly are coupled together).

The reusable hand-piece may have an optical and/or electrical connector that engages with a corresponding optical and/or electrical connector of the disposable shaft assembly when the reusable hand-piece is coupled to the disposable shaft assembly (e.g., when the housing of the reusable hand-piece and a housing of the disposable shaft assembly are coupled together). The optical and/or electrical connector of the reusable hand-piece may be part of an electronics module. The electronics module may include imaging controls.

The disposable shaft assembly can include an imaging device (e.g., image sensor such as CCD or CMOS sensor or a lens) and/or a light emitter (e.g., LED or a fiber optic cable). The imaging device and/or light emitter can be positioned at a distal end of the disposable shaft assembly. The optical and/or electrical connectors can provide communication between the electronics module of the reusable hand-piece and the imaging device and/or the light emitter of the disposable shaft assembly.

The light emitter may include an element that produces light (e.g., an LED) or may communicate light provide proximally of the articulating distal portion. For example, the light emitter may be a light pipe (e.g., fiber optic cable). The imaging device may include a sensor that converts light into electrical signals (e.g., a CCD or a CMOS sensor) or a lens arranged to pass light from the articulating distal portion towards the proximal portion of the shaft.

The reusable hand-piece can include controls for controlling fluid flow through the disposable shaft assembly. Those controls can communicate with valves in the disposable shaft assembly and/or with external support equipment (e.g., pumps and/or valves in support equipment).

The endoscope assembly can include a coupler that holds the reusable hand-piece and the disposable shaft assembly together in the assembled configuration. The coupler can include a first portion on the reusable hand-piece and a second portion on the disposable shaft assembly, wherein the first and second portions of the coupler cooperate to hold the reusable hand-piece and the disposable shaft assembly together in the assembled configuration.

The coupler is actuatable to engage and/or disengage from the disposable shaft assembly. The coupler can include a latch having catch mounted on a pivoting and/or deflectable latch arm. The latch can be biased with a biasing member (e.g., spring) into a latching configuration that can hold the reusable hand-piece and disposable shaft assembly together. The coupler may include one or more magnets that hold the reusable hand-piece to the disposable shaft assembly when in the assembly configuration. The coupler can be arranged for actuation (e.g., to engage and/or disengage) without use of a hand tool (e.g., screwdriver). Preferably, the coupler is actuatable with fingers. The coupler can be defined by a portion of the housing of the reusable hand-piece and/or the disposable shaft assembly. For example, the housing may define a deflectable tab and/or a living hinge for the coupler.

The coupler can be arranged to indicate when the reusable hand-piece and the disposable shaft assembly are coupled to one another. For example, the coupler can provide an audible “click” when the reusable hand-piece and the disposable shaft assembly are coupled to one another.

The disposable shaft assembly can include one or more ports communicating with fluid flow paths (e.g., lumens) of a shaft of the disposable shaft assembly. The fluid flow paths may extend along a length of the shaft to one or more openings in at the distal end of the shaft. The fluid flow paths may be arranged for irrigation, insufflation, aspiration, and/or for receipt of a surgical tool (e.g., forceps, a cutter, and/or a ligation device). The reusable hand-piece may be absent of fluid flow paths and/or fluid connectors in fluid communication with fluid flow paths of the shaft.

The articulation controls of the reusable hand-piece can include articulation knobs. The articulation knobs can be arranged to receive articulation input from the user (e.g., in the form of rotational movement). The articulation knobs can communication with cams and/or gears of the separable disposable shaft to actuate control wires of the disposable shaft assembly. The user controlled articulation knobs can include two knobs having and/or rigidly attached to concentric drive shafts.

The concentric drive shafts each have a cam/gear engaging portion. This portion may have a non-circular cross-sectional geometric shape such that it is capable of transmitting torque. This geometric shape can include, but is not limited to, oval, spline, square, or star, just to name a few non-limiting examples.

Advantageously, the concentric shaft drive configuration permits attachment of the disposable shaft assembly to the reusable hand-piece without the need to orient the articulation knobs or the distal articulating tip to obtain a neutral reference position. Regardless of the orientation of the disposable shaft assembly (coiled or straight) at the time of attachment, the articulation knobs will freely rotate while the distal shaft (insertion tube) is manipulated prior to use by the clinician.

The disposable shaft assembly can include a cam/gear assembly support. For example, the disposable shaft assembly may have a proximal rigid housing having a surface that supports and positions the cams and/or gears of the disposable shaft assembly to receive the cam/gear engaging portions of the drive shafts. For example, the disposable shaft assembly may include a shelf upon which the cam/gear is positioned before and/or after the disposable shaft assembly is coupled to the reusable hand-piece (e.g., when the disposable shaft assembly is decoupled from the reusable hand-piece).

Each cam contained within the proximal rigid housing associated with the separable disposable shaft can have one or more circumferential grooves. These grooves can provide a track for the articulation wires. For example, each cam may be associated with a pair of opposing articulation wires. Each articulation wire can be rigidly fixed at one end to the cam and on the other end to the distal tip of the articulating section of the shaft. Rotation of the cam, such as by means of a user input torque applied to the corresponding knob, results in a tensile force applied to the articulating distal section.

A preferred embodiment utilizes two cams, each associated with a pair of articulation wires. Each pair of articulation wires provides means for articulating the distal shaft section in a single plane. Two pairs of articulation wires provide distal shaft articulation in two different plans that are perpendicular to one another, with a longitudinal axis of the proximal shaft portion passing through the intersection of the planes.

The mating features of the concentric drive shafts associated with the reusable hand-piece and the mating features of the cams associated with the separable, disposable shaft assembly are suitable for transmitting force in the form of torque applied to the articulation knobs to tensile force in the articulation wire(s) and corresponding movement of the distal shaft articulating section.

A portion of the drive shafts, such as the cam/gear engaging portions, may be tapered along a length of the drive shafts. For example, the drive shaft may have a portion taper from small to large in a direction towards the articulation knob. Advantageously, such an arrangement can aid in mating the drive shafts with the cam/gears of the disposable shaft assembly when the reusable hand-piece is coupled to the disposable shaft assembly.

The reusable hand-piece can include a clutch that applies an adjustable level of rotational resistance to the articulation control (e.g., articulation control knobs).

In arrangements disclosed herein, the articulation controls and electronics module are mounted to the housing of the reusable hand-piece, and the articulation wire actuating assembly and connector of the disposable shaft assembly are mounted to the housing of the disposable shaft assembly. Accordingly, separation of the housing of the reusable hand-piece from the housing of the disposable shaft assembly separates the articulation controls from the articulation wire actuating assembly and the electronics module from the connector of the disposable shaft assembly.

Advantageously, the reusable hand-piece of the endoscope assembly can remain entirely outside of the body of a patient during an endoscopic procedure while the disposable shaft assembly has a portion positioned within the body of the patient during the endoscopic procedure. Accordingly, the reusable hand-piece and disposable shaft assembly can be separated from one another after the procedure and the disposable hand-piece discarded (or reprocessed). As there are no fluid lumens of the reusable hand-piece that must be cleaned and sterilized, the cleaning (aka “reprocessing”) effort between procedures is dramatically reduced. Additionally, as no portion of the reusable hand-piece, which is used for multiple patients, is inserted into the patient, the risk of infectious disease transmission can be dramatically reduced.

Disposable shaft assemblies can be arranged and/or provided in a variety of configurations to support upper and lower endoscopies. For example, disposable shaft assemblies may be arranged for colonoscope, gastroscope, sigmoidoscope, and/or duodenoscope procedures, just to name a few non-limiting examples. Additionally or alternatively, disposable shaft assemblies can be provided in various specialty configurations, e.g. pediatric insertion tube diameters. Advantageously, the ability to use the same reusable hand-piece for a variety of disposable shaft assemblies and/or procedures can substantially reduce capital investments by clinicians, clinician groups, and/or medical centers by eliminating the need to stock a plurality of dedicated scopes for each type of procedure, e.g. colonoscope, gastroscope, sigmoidoscope, duodenoscope, etc.

Methods of assembling an endoscope assembly, disassembling an endoscope assembly, and/or using an endoscope assembly are envisioned. Such methods can comprise connecting a housing of a reusable hand-piece to a housing of a disposable shaft assembly, wherein said reusable hand-piece has articulation controls and an electronics module and said disposable shaft assembly has an articulation wire actuating assembly and a connector; and wherein said connecting connects the articulation controls to the articulation wire actuating assembly and the electronics module to the connector of the disposable shaft assembly. Additionally, or alternatively, methods can comprise separating the housing of the reusable hand-piece from the housing of the disposable shaft assembly so as to separate the articulation controls from the articulation wire actuating assembly and the electronics module from the connector of the disposable shaft assembly. The methods can include providing a portion, or all, of any endoscope assembly described herein.

Advantageously, the systems, assemblies, devices, and methods disclosed herein can increase the quantity of endoscopy procedures that can be performed by a clinician and/or facility in a day by reducing and/or eliminating the time delays associated with existing reusable scopes that must undergo extensive reprocessing procedures (i.e., cleaning) between use. By using a disposable shaft, it is no longer necessary for the clinician and/or facility to reprocess (i.e., clean) the shaft and lumens of the shaft. Now the clinician and/or facility may simply wipe down the reusable hand-piece and connect a new, sterilized, disposable shaft assembly to the reusable hand-piece to prepare the endoscope assembly for another procedure.

Advantageously, the systems, assemblies, devices, and methods disclosed herein can allow a clinician to perform multiple and/or various procedures even without dedicated, reusable scopes and associated reprocessing equipment, supplies, and clean water. This can be particularly advantageous in battlefield settings or remote clinics with limited resources. In these cases, the reprocessing equipment, reprocessing supplies, trained reprocessing personnel, and reprocessing laboratory setting may not be available. Advantageously, the endoscopes disclosed herein can be prepared for a new procedure by simply using a wipe and antiseptic solution to clean the exterior surfaces of the reusable hand-piece and connecting a new disposable shaft assembly.

Advantageously, the reusable hand-piece can provide user-familiar-features using higher precision reliable components associated with the articulation knobs and the clutch.

Advantageously, incorporating the articulation handles and clutch into the reusable hand-piece reduces the components of the separable disposable shaft assembly thus resulting in a lower cost disposable portion of the endoscope.

The proximal rigid housing associated with the separable disposable shaft assembly can also include features for managing lumens for tool, irrigation, and aspiration. These features may either secure fabricated connectors or incorporate features for connecting to external devices and tubing. Advantageously, incorporating these lumen and connector features into the proximal rigid housing of the separable disposable shaft can reduce and/or prevent infectious disease transmission by segregating potential bodily fluid contact surfaces to the separable disposable shaft assembly.

In another embodiment of the endoscope, the reusable hand-piece incorporates a battery, a control board, and a transmitter (e.g., a wireless transmitter) for transmitting image data to an external storage device.

Advantageously, the incorporation of a power supply (battery), control board, and transmitter facilitates patient and image data storage and sharing while simplifying the components associated with the separable disposable shaft.

The reusable hand-piece can include a circuit board (controller) arranged to control at least a portion of support equipment (e.g., one or more pumps and/or valves in support equipment). One or more switches of the re-usable hand-piece can be associated with the circuit board so as to control the support equipment. Advantageously, such an arrangement can eliminate the need for valves for the irrigation and aspiration lumens to be physically associated with the reusable hand-piece and/or the separable distal shaft assembly.

The arrangements disclosed herein can utility low cost, miniature high-resolution cameras. Advantageously, the low cost of the components can allow for disposable endoscopes that satisfy cost, dimensional, and resolutions requirements set forth by health care providers and/or insurers.

The disposable shaft assemblies disclosed herein can be intended for one-time-use. Advantageously, a disposable medical device can reduce transmission of infectious diseases.

Applicant has also observed that expertise associated with the assessment of particular diseases and the performance of novel therapeutic procedures has become increasingly concentrated at clinical research institutions or larger healthcare facilities. Advantageously, the endoscopes disclosed herein can facilitate the dissemination of patient and image data.

The inventive aspects and embodiments discussed herein may be used independently or in combination with each other.

Other aspects, objectives, and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 depicts a front isometric view of a first embodiment of an endoscope assembly;

FIG. 2A depicts a front view of the endoscope assembly of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 2B depicts a right side view of the endoscope assembly of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 2C depicts a rear view of the endoscope assembly of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 2D depicts a top view of the endoscope assembly of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3 depicts a rear, partially-exploded isometric view of the endoscope assembly of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 4 depicts a rear, partially-exploded isometric view of the reusable hand-piece of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 5 depicts a rear, partially-exploded isometric view of the reusable hand-piece of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 6 depicts a rear, exploded isometric view of the electronics module;

FIG. 7A depicts a rear, partially exploded isometric view of the disposable shaft assembly of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 7B depicts a front view of the second housing portion;

FIG. 8 depicts rear, exploded, isometric view of the separable disposable shaft without the second housing portion;

FIG. 9 depicts the distal end of the disposable shaft assembly;

FIG. 10 depicts a front isometric view of a second embodiment of an endoscope assembly;

FIG. 11A depicts a rear isometric view of a second embodiment of the endoscope assembly of FIG. 10 ;

FIG. 11B depicts a front isometric view of a second embodiment of the endoscope assembly of FIG. 10 ;

FIG. 12A depicts a front view of the endoscope assembly of FIG. 10 ;

FIG. 12B depicts a left side view of the endoscope assembly of FIG. 10 ;

FIG. 12C depicts a rear view of the endoscope assembly of FIG. 10 ;

FIG. 12D depicts a top view of the endoscope assembly of FIG. 10 ;

FIG. 13 depicts a rear, partially-exploded isometric view of the endoscope assembly of FIG. 10 ;

FIG. 14 depicts a rear, partially-exploded isometric view of the reusable hand-piece of FIG. 10 ;

FIG. 15 depicts a rear, partially-exploded isometric view of the electronics module;

FIG. 16 depicts communication of the endoscope assembly with a base station and remote storage;

FIG. 17 depicts a rear, partially exploded isometric view of the reusable hand-piece;

FIG. 18A depicts a front, partially exploded isometric view of the disposable shaft assembly of FIG. 10 ;

FIG. 18B depicts a front view of the disposable shaft assembly;

FIG. 19 depicts front, exploded, isometric view of the disposable shaft assembly;

FIG. 20A depicts a rear, isometric view of an articulation assembly;

FIG. 20B depicts a rear, partially-exploded, isometric view of the articulation assembly of FIG. 20A;

FIG. 21 depicts the distal end of the disposable shaft assembly of FIG. 10 ;

FIG. 22 depicts a perspective view of an endoscope assembly having a latch;

FIG. 23 depicts a perspective view of the endoscope assembly of FIG. 22 with the reusable hand-piece detached from the disposable shaft assembly;

FIG. 24 depicts a rear view of the endoscope assembly of FIG. 22 with the reusable hand-piece detached from the disposable shaft assembly and the latch actuated;

FIG. 25 depicts a perspective view of an endoscope assembly having a latch, with the reusable hand-piece detached from the disposable shaft assembly;

FIG. 26 depicts a perspective view of the endoscope assembly of FIG. 25 ;

FIG. 27 depicts a perspective view of an endoscope assembly with the reusable hand-piece detached from the disposable shaft assembly; and

FIG. 28 depicts a rear view of the endoscope assembly of FIG. 27 with the reusable hand-piece detached from the disposable shaft assembly.

While the invention will be described in connection with certain preferred embodiments, there is no intent to limit it to those embodiments. On the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 depicts an endoscope assembly 100. The endoscope assembly comprises a reusable hand-piece 102 removably coupled to a disposable shaft assembly 104. The reusable hand-piece includes a housing 105 supporting an articulation control 106, such as a first articulation control knob 108 and a second articulation control knob 110. The first articulation control knob can have a smaller maximum cross-sectional dimension (e.g., diameter) than the second articulation control knob.

The articulation control can include an articulation clutch 112. The articulation clutch can be controlled by the user to apply a selectable level of resistive torque to prevent unintended rotation of a control knob, which may articulate the articulating distal portion 114 of the shaft 116 of the disposable shaft assembly.

The housing of the reusable hand-piece can include a handle portion 120. The handle portion is arranged to be gripped by a user’s hand during operation of the endoscope assembly.

An image controller 124 can be mounted to the housing of the reusable hand-piece and arranged to control the image generated by the endoscope assembly. The image controller can include controls 126 (e.g., buttons) for image capture and/or recording video from the endoscope assembly.

Controls (e.g., buttons) for controlling irrigation, suction, insufflation, and/or irrigation can be mounted to the housing of the reusable hand piece. For example, one of buttons 130 and 132 may be arranged for irrigation and the other for aspiration.

The separable disposable shaft assembly can include a rigid housing 134 having fluid connectors, such as ports 140 and 142, located near a proximal end 144 of the shaft. The fluid connectors can communicate with one or more lumens of the shaft so as to allow for a tool and/or fluid to pass through the fluid connector(s) and into the lumen(s). For example, the separable disposable shaft may have fluid connectors communicating with irrigation, insufflation, and/or aspiration/suction lumens of the shaft. The fluid connectors may be male and/or female Luer connectors.

FIG. 3 illustrates the endoscope assembly with the reusable hand-piece disconnected from the disposable shaft assembly. In the illustrated embodiment, the housing of the reusable hand-piece supports drive shafts 160 connected to the articulation control. The drive shafts extend into the region of the reusable hand-piece that receives the disposable shaft assembly. For example, the housing of the reusable hand-piece can define a recess 150 that receives a portion 152 of the disposable shaft assembly when the disposable shaft assembly and reusable hand-piece are connected to one another. Drive shafts 160 of the articulation control can extend into the recess such that, when the reusable hand-piece and the disposable shaft assembly are joined together, the drive shafts engage the disposable shaft assembly. The recess may include an optical and/or electrical connector 162 for optically and/or electrically connecting the reusable hand-piece to the disposable shaft assembly.

A coupler for removably coupling the reusable hand-piece to the disposable shaft assembly can be mounted to the housing reusable hand-piece. The coupler is arranged to engage a portion of the disposable shaft assembly when the disposable hand-piece is connected to the disposable shaft assembly. For example, the coupler may include a latch and/or a magnet 170, just to name a few non-limiting examples, that cooperate(s) with a portion of the disposable shaft assembly to hold the reusable hand-piece and the disposable shaft assembly together.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 , the first articulation knob can have or be connected to a first drive shaft 180 having a cam/gear engaging portion 182 and the second articulation knob can have or be connected to a second drive shaft 186 having a cam/gear engaging portion 188. The drive shafts can be concentric drive shafts. For example, as shown in the illustrated embodiment, the first drive shaft can extend through the second drive shaft such that the cam/gear engaging portions are exposed when in the assembled configuration. Accordingly, the first drive shaft can have a smaller maximum cross-sectional dimension (measured orthogonal to the axis of the drive shaft) and a greater length than the second drive shaft.

An electronics module 190 can be mounted to the housing of the reusable hand-piece. The electronics module can include controls (e.g., 126, 130, and/or 132), discussed above, of the reusable hand-piece. The electronics module can include a housing 200 supporting a circuit board 202. The circuit board can have a wireless transmitter and/or receiver arranged for wireless communication.

The electronics module includes an optical and/or electrical connector 204 arranged to optically and/or electrically connect the electronics module to the reusable hand-piece and/or the disposable shaft assembly. For example, the circuit board may include terminals 206. The terminals can provide electrical connectivity to corresponding terminals of the disposable shaft assembly, such as signal/power terminals located on a disposable shaft assembly housing.

The electronics module can include a battery 210. The battery can be a removable battery that is removably mountable on a battery mount 214 that electrically connects the battery to the electronics module. For example, the battery mount may provide electrical connectivity between the battery and the circuit board.

Turning now to FIGS. 7-9 , the disposable shaft assembly includes a housing 300 located at a proximal end 144 of the shaft. The housing can include a first housing portion 306 and a second housing portion 308. The first housing portion of the disposable shaft assembly supports an articulation wire actuating assembly, such as a cam assembly 320, attached to a plurality of articulation wires, such as first articulation wire 322 and second articulation wire 324. The articulation wires extend from the articulation wire actuating assembly to the articulating distal portion 114 of the shaft 116 and, upon rotation of portions of cam assembly, articulate (e.g., deflect) the articulating distal portion.

An optical and/or electrical connector 330 arranged to optically and/or electrically connect the disposable shaft assembly to the reusable hand-piece is mounted to the housing of the disposable shaft assembly (e.g., the second housing portion). For example, the disposable shaft assembly can include prongs 332 that contact terminals of the reusable hand-piece when the housing of the reusable hand-piece and the housing of the disposable shaft assembly are connected.

Optical and/or electrical conductors (not shown) connect the optical and/or electrical connector of the housing to shaft. For example, electrical conductors may extend from the prongs 332 to the proximal portion of the shaft so as to allow electrical communication between the optical and/or electrical connector and a light emitter and/or a CCD/CMOS sensor positioned at the distal tip of the shaft.

As mentioned above, the disposable shaft assembly includes fluid connectors such as ports 140 and 142. The fluid connectors can be defined by the housing assembly or attached to the housing assembly. Fluid tubing, not shown, connects the lumens of the fluid connectors to lumens of the shaft. Accordingly, fluid transferred through the shaft does not contact portions of the reusable hand-piece.

The cam assembly, shown in FIG. 8 , includes a first cam 340 and a second cam 342. A first articulation wire (or pair of articulation wires) is attached to the first cam, and a second articulation wire (or pair of articulation wires) is attached to the second cam. The first cam defines a recess 346 that receives the cam engaging portion of the first drive shaft, and the second cam defines a recess 348 that receives the cam engaging portion of the second drive shaft when the reusable hand-piece and the disposable shaft assembly are connected together. In this way, rotation of an articulation control knob can rotate the connected cam and actuate an articulation wire. In the illustrated embodiment, the first articulation wire is arranged to actuate the articulating distal portion in a first plane when actuated, and the second articulation wire is arranged to articulate the articulating distal portion in a second plane when actuated. The first and second planes can be orthogonal to one another.

FIG. 9 illustrates the distal end of the articulating distal portion of the shaft. The distal end can include a light emitter 360, an imaging device 362, a first opening 364 to an irrigation or aspiration lumen of the shaft, and a second opening 366 to a lumen of the shaft, such as one that is arranged to receive a tool (e.g., forceps, a cutter, and/or a ligation device).

FIGS. 10-13 illustrate another endoscope assembly 500. The endoscope assembly includes a reusable hand-piece 502 removably attachable to a disposable shaft assembly 504. The reusable hand-piece includes a handle 506 and an articulation control 508. The articulation control can include a first articulation knob 512 and a second articulation control knob 514.

When the reusable hand-piece is connected to the disposable shaft assembly, the first articulation control knob can control articulation of a articulating distal portion of the disposable shaft assembly in a first plane (e.g., left/right) and the second articulation control knob can control articulation in a second plane (e.g., up/down). The first and second planes can be orthogonal to one another.

The articulation control can include a clutch for adjusting the resistance required to actuate portions of the articulation control. For example, the articulation control can include a first clutch 518 arranged to selectively adjust rotational resistance of the first articulation control knob and a second clutch 520 arranged to selectively adjust the rotational resistance of the second articulation control knob.

The disposable shaft assembly can include one or more ports providing access to one or more lumens of the articulating distal portion of the shaft. For example, the disposable shaft assembly can include an instrument port 530, a suction port 532, and/or an inflation/irrigation port 534.

A display 540 can be mounted to the housing of the reusable hand-piece. The display can be a touchscreen display. The display can be connected to the housing of the hand-piece via a hinge 542 so that the display is pivotable relative to the handle of the hand-piece.

Imaging controls 550 can be mounted to the housing of the reusable hand-piece. For example, the reusable hand-piece can include an image capture switch 552 and/or a video capture switch 554. The imaging controls can be positioned at a first location on the hand-piece, such as above the handle of the reusable hand-piece so that, when the handle is being gripped in a hand of an operator, the imaging controls can be actuated by at least one finger (e.g., thumb) of the hand gripping the handle.

One or more fluid control switches 560 for controlling the passage of fluid(s) through the disposable shaft assembly can be mounted to the housing of the reusable hand-piece. For example, the hand-piece can include an inflation switch 562, an irrigation switch 564, and a suction switch 566. Fluid control switches can be positioned at a second location on the hand-piece, the second location being remote from the first location, such as on a forward surface of the hand-piece. The fluid control switches are located so that, when the handle is being gripped in the hand of the operator, the fluid control switches can be actuated by at least one finger (e.g., the index finger) of the hand gripping the handle. Preferably, the fluid control switches are positioned so as to be operable by a first finger and the imaging controls are positioned so as to be operable by a second finger of an operator’s hand gripping the handle. Advantageously, such an arrangement can allow for one-handed, simultaneous, and independent operation of the imaging controls and fluid control switches.

An electronics module 570 can be mounted to the housing of the reusable hand-piece. The display, the imaging controls, and/or the fluid control switches discussed above may be attached to and/or included in the electronics module. The electronics module can include a controller 574 having an optical and/or electrical connector 576 (e.g., terminals). The optical and/or electrical connector is arranged to connect to a connector of the disposable shaft assembly for the transmission of light and/or electricity from the controller to the disposable shaft assembly.

The controller of the reusable hand-piece can be arranged to receive a battery 580. Preferably, the battery is removably mountable on the controller. For example, the battery can have a portion 582 that is removably mountable on a battery mounting portion 584 of the controller so that the battery can be removed from the controller to be replaced and/or recharged.

The controller may include a communication module 590 arranged for wireless and/or wired communication with a base station 600. The communication module may communicate using a wireless communication protocol such as 802.11 a/b/g/n and/or Bluetooth®. Data, such as image and/or video data, may be communicated between the controller and the base station.

The base station may communicate with a remote database 604. The remote database may be connected to the internet (e.g., the world wide web) and the base station and remote database capable of communicating with one another using TCP/IP.

The controller can be mounted to a housing 594 that supports the articulation controls of the reusable hand-piece. The housing can define at least a portion of the handle.

The articulation controls of the reusable hand-piece can include drive shafts for transmitting torque to the disposable shaft assembly. For example, the first articulation control knob may include a first drive shaft 612 having a first torque-transmitting feature 614 and the second articulation control knob may include a second drive shaft 620 having a second torque-transmitting feature 622.

The drive shafts of the articulation controls may be concentric. For example, the second drive shaft may define an opening 624 arranged to receive the first drive shaft so that the first drive shaft can extend through the second drive shaft and the first and second torque-transmitting features be presented to the disposable shaft assembly when the endoscope assembly is in an assembled configuration.

FIG. 18A-19 illustrate the disposable shaft assembly. The disposable shaft assembly includes a shaft 702 having an articulating distal portion 704 and a proximal portion 706 connected to a housing 710. The housing can have a first portion 712 and a second portion 714 that sandwich the proximal portion of the shaft.

An optical and/or electrical connector 720 arranged to communicate with the optical and/or electrical connector of the controller of the reusable hand-piece can be mounted to the housing of the disposable shaft assembly. The optical and/or electrical connector of the disposable shaft assembly is arranged to receive light and/or electricity from the controller.

The disposable shaft assembly includes one or more articulation wires 730 associated with an articulation wire articulating assembly, such as a cam assembly 732. The cam assembly can include a first cam 740 and a second cam 742 arranged to actuate the one or more articulation wires in response to rotation of the actuation control of the reusable hand-piece.

The disposable shaft assembly includes a cam assembly support. The cam assembly support can include a shelf 750 of the disposable shaft assembly. The shelf, alone or in cooperation with another feature such as the articulation wires, is arranged to retain the cam assembly against the disposable shaft assembly when the disposable shaft assembly is not connected to the reusable hand-piece. For example, the shelf can extend between the cam assembly and the proximal portion of the shaft so that the tension of the articulation wires pulls the cam assembly against the shelf.

The shelf can define a recess 752 arranged to receive the cam assembly. The recess can be defined by a concave surface matching a curvature of the cam assembly so as to retain the cam assembly on the shelf. Additionally or alternatively, the shelf may include an end wall 754 arranged to resist the cam assembly from moving (e.g., sliding) from the shelf.

FIGS. 20A and 20B illustrate an alternative to the cam assemblies described above. In this alternative arrangement, a rack and pinion assembly 800 includes a first gear rack 802 and a second gear rack 804 that each engage a first gear 808, and a third gear rack 812 and fourth gear rack 814 that each engage a second gear 818. When the reusable hand-piece is attached to the disposable shaft assembly, the first gear engages the cam engaging portion of the first drive shaft and the second gear engages the cam engaging portion of the second drive shaft. Accordingly, the first gear rotates when an operator rotates the first articulation control knob, and the second gear rotates when an operator rotates the second articulation control knob.

Articulation wires 830 are attached to the gear racks. Upon rotation of the first gear and/or second gear, the associated gear racks translate which, in turn, actuates the associated articulation wires. For example, upon rotation of the first gear, one of the first and second gear racks translates upwards so as to pull the associated articulation wire and the other gear rack translates downwards.

FIG. 21 illustrates the distal end of the articulating distal portion of the shaft. The distal end can include a light emitter 860, an imaging device 862, a first opening 864 to an irrigation or aspiration lumen of the shaft, and a second opening 866 to a lumen of the shaft, such as one that is arranged to receive a tool (e.g., forceps, a cutter, and/or a ligation device).

FIGS. 22-24 illustrate a coupler for securing the reusable hand-piece to the disposable shaft assembly. As shown in FIG. 22 , the coupler 900 can comprise an external portion 902 and an internal portion 904. When the reusable hand-piece is attached to the disposable shaft assembly, the external portion (e.g., a button, slider, and/or switch) is actuatable by a user’s hand and the internal portion is positioned inside the endoscope assembly.

To disconnect the reusable hand-piece from the disposable shaft assembly, a user presses the external portion of the coupler so as to move the internal portion, as shown by arrow 908 in FIG. 24 . Actuating the external portion of the coupler disengages the internal portion of the coupler from a surface of disposable shaft assembly so as to allow the reusable hand-piece to be separated from the disposable shaft assembly.

FIGS. 25 and 26 illustrate another coupler embodiment. In this embodiment, the coupler comprises a lever 920 that is pivotable from a locked configuration to an unlocked configuration and vice-versa.

FIGS. 27 and 28 illustrate another arrangement of an endoscope assembly comprising a reusable hand-piece 940 and a disposable shaft assembly 942. In this embodiment, the handle 944 of the endoscope is defined entirely by one of the separable portions (i.e., the reusable hand-piece or the disposable shaft assembly). In earlier illustrated embodiments, the handle is defined by portions of both the reusable hand-piece and the disposable shaft assembly.

The term “removably coupled” as used herein, regardless of tense, means capable of being separated without destructive means (e.g., saw, hammer, blow torch, etc.).

The following numbered clauses set out specific embodiments that may be useful in understanding the present invention:

1. An endoscope, comprising:

a reusable hand-piece and a disposable shaft assembly, wherein the means for articulation is transferred from the reusable hand-piece to the disposable shaft assembly by means of concentric drive shafts.

2. The endoscope of clause 1, wherein the concentric drive shafts transmit torque to the articulation pulleys by means of oval, spline, square, or star geometric features.

3. The endoscope of clause 1 or 2, wherein the reusable hand-piece incorporates a battery, a control board, and means for wirelessly transmitting image data to an external storage device.

4. An endoscope, comprising:

-   a reusable hand-piece assembly and a first disposable shaft     assembly; -   an articulation control mounted to a housing of the reusable     hand-piece assembly; and -   an articulation wire actuating assembly mounted to a housing of the     first disposable shaft assembly, the articulation wire actuating     assembly attached to an articulation wire extending along a length     of the first disposable shaft assembly;     -   wherein the housing of the reusable hand-piece assembly is         removably connected to the housing of the first disposable shaft         assembly; and     -   wherein the articulation control engages the articulation wire         actuating assembly when the housing of the reusable hand-piece         assembly is connected to the housing of the first disposable         shaft assembly.

5. The endoscope of clause 4, wherein the housing of the reusable hand-piece assembly is arranged for connection to and disconnection from the housing of the first disposable shaft assembly without hand tools.

6. The endoscope of clause 4 or 5, wherein the housing of the reusable hand-piece assembly is removably connected to the housing of the first disposable shaft assembly by one or more latches.

7. The endoscope of any one of clauses 4-6, wherein the housing of the reusable hand-piece assembly is removably connected to the housing of the first disposable shaft assembly by one or more magnets.

8. The endoscope of any one of clauses 4-7, wherein the reusable hand-piece assembly is absent a fluid connector that communicates with a lumen of the first disposable shaft assembly.

9. The endoscope of any one of clauses 4-8, wherein the housing of the first disposable shaft assembly includes a port in fluid communication with a lumen of a shaft of the first disposable shaft assembly.

10. The endoscope of any one of clauses 4-9, wherein the articulation control of reusable hand-piece includes a first articulation control knob and a second articulation control knob.

11. The endoscope of clause 10, wherein the first articulation control knob has a first drive shaft and the second articulation control knob has a second drive shaft, and wherein the first and second drive shafts are concentric.

12. The endoscope of any one of clauses 4-11, wherein:

an electronics module is mounted to the housing of the reusable hand-piece assembly.

13. The endoscope of clause 12, wherein:

the electronics module has a connector that engages a connector of the first disposable shaft assembly when the housing of the reusable hand-piece assembly is connected to the housing of the first disposable shaft assembly.

14. A method, comprising:

connecting a housing of a reusable hand-piece to a housing of a first disposable shaft assembly, wherein said reusable hand-piece has articulation controls and an electronics module and said first disposable shaft assembly has an articulation wire actuating assembly and a connector; and wherein said connecting connects the articulation controls to the articulation wire actuating assembly and the electronics module to the connector of the first disposable shaft assembly.

15. The method of clause 14, comprising:

separating the housing of the reusable hand-piece from the housing of the first disposable shaft assembly so as to separate the articulation controls from the articulation wire actuating assembly and the electronics module from the connector of the first disposable shaft assembly.

16. The method of clause 14 or 15, comprising:

-   connecting the housing of the reusable hand-piece to a housing of a     second disposable shaft assembly, wherein said second disposable     shaft assembly has an articulation wire actuating assembly and a     connector; and -   wherein said connecting connects the articulation controls to the     articulation wire actuating assembly and the electronics module to     the connector of the second disposable shaft assembly.

17. An endoscope system, comprising:

-   the endoscope of any one of clauses 4-13 and a second disposable     shaft assembly; -   wherein the second disposable shaft assembly has an articulation     wire actuating assembly mounted to a housing of the second     disposable shaft assembly, the articulation wire actuating assembly     attached to an articulation wire extending along a length of the     second disposable shaft assembly; -   wherein the housing of the reusable hand-piece assembly is removably     connectable to the housing of the second disposable shaft assembly;     and -   wherein the articulation control engages the articulation wire     actuating assembly of the second disposable shaft assembly when the     housing of the reusable hand-piece assembly is connected to the     housing of the second disposable shaft assembly.

18. The system of clause 17, wherein the first disposable shaft assembly differs from the second disposable shaft assembly in at least one of shaft length and shaft diameter.

The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in the context of describing the invention (especially in the context of the following claims) is to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and “containing” are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, but not limited to,”) unless otherwise noted. Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention.

Preferred embodiments of this invention are described herein, including the best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the invention. Variations of those preferred embodiments may become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description.

The inventors expect skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate, and the inventors intend for the invention to be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. Accordingly, this invention includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the invention unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. 

What is claimed is:
 1. (canceled)
 2. (canceled)
 3. (canceled)
 4. (canceled)
 5. (canceled)
 6. (canceled)
 7. (canceled)
 8. (canceled)
 9. (canceled)
 10. (canceled)
 11. (canceled)
 12. (canceled)
 13. (canceled)
 14. A method, comprising: connecting a housing of a reusable hand-piece to a housing of a first disposable shaft assembly, wherein said reusable hand-piece has articulation controls and an electronics module and said first disposable shaft assembly has an articulation wire actuating assembly and a connector; and wherein said connecting connects the articulation controls to the articulation wire actuating assembly and the electronics module to the connector of the first disposable shaft assembly.
 15. The method of claim 14, comprising: separating the housing of the reusable hand-piece from the housing of the first disposable shaft assembly so as to separate the articulation controls from the articulation wire actuating assembly and the electronics module from the connector of the first disposable shaft assembly.
 16. The method of claim 15, comprising: connecting the housing of the reusable hand-piece to a housing of a second disposable shaft assembly, wherein said second disposable shaft assembly has an articulation wire actuating assembly and a connector; and wherein said connecting connects the articulation controls to the articulation wire actuating assembly and the electronics module to the connector of the second disposable shaft assembly.
 17. (canceled)
 18. (canceled)
 19. The method of claim 14, wherein the articulation controls of the reusable hand-piece includes a first articulation control knob and a second articulation control knob.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the first articulation control knob has a first drive shaft and the second articulation control knob has a second drive shaft, and wherein the first and second drive shafts are concentric.
 21. The method of claim 14, wherein the housing of the reusable hand-piece is arranged for connection to and disconnection from the housing of the first disposable shaft assembly without hand tools.
 22. The method of claim 14, wherein the reusable hand-piece is absent a fluid connector that communicates with a lumen of the first disposable shaft assembly.
 23. The method of claim 14, wherein the housing of the first disposable shaft assembly includes a port in fluid communication with a lumen of a shaft of the first disposable shaft assembly.
 24. The method of claim 14, wherein the articulation wire actuating assembly comprises a rack and pinion assembly; wherein the rack and pinion assembly includes a first gear rack coupled to a first articulation control knob through a first gear and a second gear rack coupled to a second articulation control knob through a second gear; wherein the articulation wire extending along a length of the first disposable shaft assembly is a first articulation wire coupled to the first gear rack such that rotation of the first articulation control knob translates the first gear rack; and wherein a second articulation wire is coupled to the second gear rack such that rotation of the second articulation control knob translates the second gear rack.
 25. The method of claim 24, wherein the rack and pinion assembly, comprises: a third gear rack associated with the first articulation control knob and a fourth gear rack associated with the second articulation control knob; wherein rotation of the first articulation control knob translates the third gear rack in a direction opposite that of the first gear rack; and wherein rotation of the second articulation control knob translates the fourth gear rack in a direction opposite that of the second gear rack.
 26. A method, comprising: attaching a housing of a reusable hand-piece to a housing of a first disposable shaft assembly, wherein said reusable hand-piece has an articulation control mounted to the housing of the reusable hand-piece and said first disposable shaft assembly has an articulation wire actuating assembly mounted to the housing of the first disposable shaft assembly, the articulation wire actuating assembly attached to an articulation wire extending along a first direction and along a length of the first disposable shaft assembly; wherein said attaching connects the articulation control to the articulation wire actuating assembly of the first disposable shaft assembly along a second direction; and wherein said second direction is different than said first direction.
 27. The method of claim 26, comprising: separating the housing of the reusable hand-piece from the housing of the first disposable shaft assembly so as to separate the articulation control from the articulation wire actuating assembly of the first disposable shaft assembly.
 28. The method of claim 27, comprising: connecting the housing of the reusable hand-piece to a housing of a second disposable shaft assembly, wherein said second disposable shaft assembly has an articulation wire actuating assembly; and wherein said connecting connects the articulation control to the articulation wire actuating assembly of the second disposable shaft assembly.
 29. The method of claim 26, wherein the articulation control of the reusable hand-piece includes a first articulation control knob and a second articulation control knob.
 30. The method of claim 29, wherein the first articulation control knob has a first drive shaft and the second articulation control knob has a second drive shaft, and wherein the first and second drive shafts are concentric and extend along the second direction.
 31. The method of claim 26, wherein the housing of the reusable hand-piece is arranged for connection to and disconnection from the housing of the first disposable shaft assembly without hand tools.
 32. The method of claim 26, wherein the reusable hand-piece is absent a fluid connector that communicates with a lumen of the first disposable shaft assembly.
 33. The method of claim 26, wherein the housing of the first disposable shaft assembly includes a port in fluid communication with a lumen of a shaft of the first disposable shaft assembly.
 34. The method of claim 26, wherein the articulation wire actuating assembly comprises a rack and pinion assembly; wherein the rack and pinion assembly includes a first gear rack coupled to a first articulation control knob through a first gear and a second gear rack coupled to a second articulation control knob through a second gear; wherein the articulation wire extending along a length of the first disposable shaft assembly is a first articulation wire coupled to the first gear rack such that rotation of the first articulation control knob translates the first gear rack; and wherein a second articulation wire is coupled to the second gear rack such that rotation of the second articulation control knob translates the second gear rack.
 35. The method of claim 34, wherein the rack and pinion assembly, comprises: a third gear rack associated with the first articulation control knob and a fourth gear rack associated with the second articulation control knob; wherein rotation of the first articulation control knob translates the third gear rack in a direction opposite that of the first gear rack; and wherein rotation of the second articulation control knob translates the fourth gear rack in a direction opposite that of the second gear rack. 